A Petition for the attention of the EU Heads of State or Government:

A top priority for Europe: secure the research and innovation budget!

Europe’s future depends on making optimal use of its scientific talent for the benefit of science and society;

creative environments and research infrastructures are needed in which talent can flourish and innovations emerge;

reliable financial support must be provided for long-term, often risky, fundamental research. Only then will the grand challenges be addressed in a sustainable way.

Therefore, we strongly support the letter signed by Nobel Prize and Fields Medal winners and urge you to act:

cuts in the EU budget for research, innovation and education are counter-productive as they will aggravate the problems Europe faces instead of finding solutions;

the European Research Council, ERC, is an undeniable success story for Europe. The ERC has demonstrated its ability to find, fund and empower the best researchers and has changed the future outlook of the younger generation. It needs to be strengthened to achieve more scientific-technological breakthroughs leading to future innovation.

We urge you to provide a clear signal that investment in research, innovation and education is a top political priority, especially in times of crisis. Europe has been the cradle of modern science and the role accorded to science will shape Europe’s future.